The Columnist Manifesto

I think most of the great cities have some sort of municipal law that makes it technically illegal to perform on the streets or subways. If that's true, I take it as a sign of a city's greatness that it declines to enforce that law. I love street musicians. Most of them. If they're good.



But not a bad steel drum player. No, no, no, no, no. Steel drum sounds okay if it's caribbean music and you're sipping a tropical drink at a beach bar. But there's some awful steel drum fad going around in New York City where they're (a) playing "popular" music standards -- the kinds of pop, jazz and classical tunes you hear on more sophisticated elevators; and (b) still learning how to play the instrument. This guy lapsed into "hunt and peck" moments in his performance several times before my train came.

Where are the taste police when you need them!